The Tamayura Shines Brighter When Maon's Around
by Windrises
Summary: Although things aren't perfect, Maon's determined to make things brighter for her friends.


Note: Tamayura is anime that was made by Junichi Sato and was done by the studio TYO Animations.

Maon Sakurada was a young woman, who had a lot of different interests. She was having a harder time finding a purpose, than her other friends, Fuu Sawatari, Kaoru Hanawa, and Norie Okazaki. Her friends had clear goals, that they wanted to pursue, while Maon struggled to pick a specific career. She wanted to be a variety of things, including a singer, a writer, an artist, a nurse, a clerk, and several other things.

One day, Maon met up with her three closest friends, at Fuu's family's cafe. Fuu and Norie accidentally spilt drinks on patient and understanding customers, while Kaoru talked to them about their future careers. As usual, Maon tried to not add much to the conversation. She was the shyest of them all, even more so than Fuu. Because of that, she often whistled, rather than using actual words.

Kaoru said, "So, have you figured what jobs you want?"

Fuu had an excited look on her face, while saying, "I know what job I wanna have, I do."

Kaoru replied, "That's great to hear. Knowing you, I'm suspecting photography to be involved."

Fuu nodded her head and responded, "That's for sure. Because I love photography so much, I'm going to try become a professional photographer. I might take pictures for the newspapers and stuff like that."

Norie replied, "That might not be a great idea."

Fuu had a confused look on her face, while asking, "Why not?"

Norie answered, "Newspapers aren't as popular, as they used to be. If you want to be relevant, you gotta get a cellphone or internet job."

Kaoru shook her head and said, "Fuu, no need to listen to Norie. Although newspapers have gone down in popularity, there's still plenty of jobs, that you can easily get."

Fuu smiled and replied, "Thank you, Kaoru. I appreciate you believing in me, I do. So, are there any type of jobs, that you're planning on getting?"

Kaoru answered, "Yes, I'm planning on getting a job, at a perfume store. Since scents are my hobby, I think a perfume store would be perfect."

Norie replied, "You could work with candles."

Kaoru responded, "That's not a very good idea, because of dangerous candles can be."

Fuu replied, "Candles scare me, they do."

Kaoru looked at Norie and asked, "What kind of job will you pursue?"

Norie answered, "I love sweets, particularly the baked kind. Because of that, I'm going to open a bakery." She had a sneaky smile come upon her face, while saying, "I might also sell coffee, at my future bakery. That way, I can get all of the customers, that would be coming here." She did an immature laugh.

Fuu had a nervous look on her face, while asking, "You're planning on putting my family's cafe out of business?"

Kaoru angrily sighed and replied, "As usual, Norie was trying to use a bit of dark humor, which ended up failing."

Norie stubbornly responded, "Hey, I'm comedy gold." Kaoru shook her head.

Fuu and Kaoru looked at Maon, who hadn't said a word. They knew Maon was shy and didn't like having a prominent role in their conversations. However, since they were talking about an important topic, they thought Maon should participate.

Kaoru said, "Maon, what kind of job do you want?"

Maon looked nervous, because she wasn't fond of having the attention directed at her. She shyly said, "I'm not sure. There's several jobs, which I have an interest in. In fact, there's more than a dozen. Because of that, it's hard me to find the job, that I should be pursuing." Her nervousness started increasing, while saying, "Since we graduated high-school, I should have a better understanding, of which job I want the most. However, I haven't come to that choice, which I feel ashamed about."

Kaoru calmly replied, "There's nothing, that you should be feeling ashamed about."

Fuu responded, "I agree. Maon, you still have plenty of time. Careers are a very important thing, so it's good to think through, it is. You have nothing, that you should be worrying about."

Maon started feeling more relieved, while saying, "Thank you. It means a lot, that you feel that way." Fuu and Kaoru hugged Maon, which made her smile. Norie didn't participate in the rest of the conversation, because she was busy throwing food at customers.

The next morning, Maon got out of her bed and heard her cellphone ringing. She picked up the phone and saw that her dad was calling her. She answered the phone and said, "Hi Dad. What's going on?"

Mr. Sakurada replied, "I was trying to call your mom, but as usual, I forget what her number is. I'm having a problem at the hotel, that I could use her help with. I'm trying to find a way, to get into contact with her."

Maon tried to not to laugh, while saying, "I don't mean to tease you, but you do know that Mom also works at the hotel, don't you?"

Mr. Sakurada had an embarrassed look on his face, while nervously laughing, and saying, "I forgot, that she's only a few rooms away. She's probably helping out one of the customers, which is a shame, because I could use some help."

Maon replied, "If that's the case, I'd be honored to come by and help you."

Mr. Sakurada looked relieved, while saying, "Thank you, Maon. Believe it or not, you're a great daughter."

Maon replied, "Thank you, Dad."

A few minutes later, Maon drove to her father's hotel. She quickly went into the lobby, where her father was waiting for you. Mr. Sakurada hugged her and said, "Thank you so much, for coming. We have a tremendous problem. Come with me."

Maon replied, "Okay."

Mr. Sakurada brought Maon, to the hotel's second floor. He opened each of the guests' rooms and showed Maon how messy the rooms are. He said, "Every single one of these rooms was supposed to be cleaned, by today. However, none of them are clean, so progress isn't exactly happening."

Maon replied, "I see. Couldn't you get one of the cleaning ladies or guys, to clean up the rooms?"

Mr. Sakurada nervously responded, "I fired a majority of them."

Maon had a confused look on her face, while asking, "Why did you do that?"

Mr. Sakurada replied, "They wanted a raise. Considering I don't like how much I was already paying them, I had them hit the road."

Maon folded her arms and said, "Dad, that wasn't a very smart choice."

Mr. Sakurada nervously laughed and replied, "I know and I'm planning on having them come back, by next week. However, I need someone to clean the rooms, by the end of today. If I can't get anybody, I'll have a marathon of complaints."

Maon responded, "Then I'll clean the rooms."

Mr. Sakurada had an excited look on his face, while saying, "Thank you. You're an incredible daughter, Maon." Maon went to the janitor's closet and started grabbing the cleaning supplies, while her dad danced in the hallway.

It took Maon an effort-filled hour, to clean the rooms. After she was done, she said goobye to her dad and started walking out of the hallway.

While driving around the city, Maon drove by Chimo Yakuza's Hoboro restaurant. Maon saw one of her teachers, Kazutarou Dougou, standing by her car. Maon parked her car, because she could tell Dougou needed some help. She walked up to him and said, "Hi, Mr. Dougou. What's going on?"

Dougou replied, "I have a real dilemma."

Maon looked concerned, while asking, "What's going on?"

Dougou started crying a bunch of overdramatic tears, while saying, "I did something incredibly dumb, that the love of my life, Chimo, would be ashamed of."

Maon asked, "What did you do?"

Dougou answered, "We've been dating for an entire year, so I bought her an anniversary card. On the night I bought the card, I had a long day at school. Because of that, I didn't pay much attention, to which card I should grab. When I read the card, I realized it was too sentimental and corny, so I flushed it down the toilet. However, when I flushed it down the toilet, I also flushed a hundred dollars, which I was going to use to get Chimo flowers. Because of my stupidity, I don't have flowers or a card."

Maon didn't like seeing anybody cry such sad tears, even if Dougou was being ridiculously overdramatic about it. She wanted him, to relax and make Chimo happy, so she tried to suggest a solution. She said, "I know losing that much money is bad, but don't you have plenty of other bills, that you could use, for buying the card and flowers?"

Mr. Dougou replied, "I do, but I'm the kind of person, who likes to save money. Besides, there's a lot of things, that I want to get, in the future."

Maon responded, "If that's the case, I'll go to a nearby store and get the stuff, which you can give to Chimo."

Mr. Dougou was so excited, that he started jumping around. He said, "Thank you, Maon. When I was your teacher, I had mixed feelings about you. However, I now think, that you're a special person."

Maon smiled and replied, "Thank you." Maon got back into her car and drove to a nearby store. She got a very heartfelt, emotional card, for Dougou to give to Chimo. In addition to that, she got a fancy bouquet of roses. She drove back to Dougou and gave the stuff to him.

After that, Maon paid a visit to the city's perfume store, because she saw that Kaoru's car was parked there. She figured she should go inside and say hi to her friend. She went looked around and saw that Kaoru had a panicked look on her face. Kaoru was the type of person, who usually only got worried, for serious and understandable reasons. Because of that, Maon ran to Kaoru and asked, "What's going on?"

Kaoru explained, "I was testing out a bottle of perfume, so I opened it and started smelling it. However, while I was doing that, I accidentally slipped and knocked several bottles to the ground." She put her hand over her face, while saying, "I can't believe, that I did such a clumsy thing. After all, I often complain to Fuu and Norie, for making such slapstick-filled mistakes."

Maon didn't want Kaoru to worry, so she put her hand on her shoulder and said, "Don't worry, Kaoru."

Kaoru replied, "But since I ruined those bottles, I'll have to pay for them. Because of that, I have plenty of things, that I can worry about."

Maon shook her head and responded, "You're not going to have to pay, for all of the bottles. I'll pay, for half of them."

Kaoru replied, "Maon, that's a really nice gesture, but I shouldn't let you do that."

Maon responded, "You're one of my dearest friends, so I'm more than willing, to help you out."

Kaoru smiled and replied, "Thank you, Maon." Maon and Kaoru walked to the cashier and started paying.

Next, Maon decided to drive to Fuu's family's cafe. She knew Norie often did cooking there and if she was actually there, Maon would be able to visit two of her friends.

Maon walked inside and saw that Norie had a mopey look, that stretched across her face. Maon walked closer to her and asked, "What's going on?"

Norie answered, "I made several snacks, that required a lot of passion and energy. The things, that I baked, are delightful treats, but nobody's ordered them."

Maon didn't want Norie to have a negative feelings, towards the things she baked. After all, baking was one of Norie's greatest passions, so Maon was prepared, to help her friend out. She had a gentle smile on her face, while saying, "I'll eat some of the things, that you baked."

Norie had an excited look on her face, while saying, "That's awesome to hear, my dear friend." She ran and grabbed the things, that she baked. She grabbed a plate and put several slices of bread and a couple of muffins, on the plate.

After Maon paid Norie, she started eating the bread. Norie baked the bread, at an extremely high temperature. Maon quickly felt overheated. She started running to the vending machine and getting a cup of soda.

Norie asked, "How does my bread make you feel?"

Maon said, "I'm hot."

Norie smirked and replied, "You do look good, but I wasn't expecting you, to boast about your appearance."

Maon rolled her eyes and responded, "What I was referring to, was the temperature of the bread. It was way warmer, than any food should be."

Norie nervously laughed and replied, "I'm sorry about that. I used a similar temperature, for the muffins, so I wouldn't recommend eating those. I could put them in the freezer, so they can cool off. That could increase the taste."

Maon responded, "I appreciate the offer, but that's okay."

Norie replied, "Thank you, for trying out the things, that I've been baking. If I had given them to one of the customers, the customer would of gotten overheated and this place would get in trouble. You saved me." She hugged Maon.

Maon smiled and responded, "You're welcome."

Fuu walked to Maon and said, "Hi Maon. It's good to see you, it is."

Maon kept smiling, while saying, "Thank you."

Fuu replied, "We can talk upstairs."

Maon responded, "Okay then."

After Maon and Fuu got into the upstairs room, which Fuu used for relaxing with her friends, Maon started telling Fuu about her day. Maon said, "It was a pretty chaotic type of day, but if I helped my friends, it was a good day."

Fuu thought about how kind Maon was and said, "You know, you were unaware of what job you should take, but I think you've already taken a job."

Maon had a confused look on her face, while asking, "What do you mean?"

Fuu answered, "You spent the day, assisting your friends. That extreme amount, of heartfelt kindness, reminds me of tamayura. Just like tamayura, when you're around, the happiness of others is also around."

Maon smiled and replied, "If that's the case, I couldn't be more honored. Making my loved ones happy means more to me, than all the careers I'm interested in pursuing, combined."

Fuu got out a camera and asked, "May I take a picture of you?"

Maon answered, "Of course you can." Maon posed, by having a warm, gentle smile on her face. Fuu snapped the picture. After looking at it, she saw a whole lot of tamayura. Just like tamayura, Maon represented the most gentle and fluffiest form of cheerfulness.


End file.
